IPL 2018: I am proud the way experienced players showed their way this season, says CSK coach Stephen Fleming

The most successful coach in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Stephen Fleming has proud on his experienced Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players after clinching the IPL 2018 title on Sunday (27 May) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The Men in Yellow returned to IPL folds after a gap of two years, and Fleming said that the players were motivated to win the tournament, and he is proud of the way how his players individually stood up at the key times in the 11th edition of the T20 event.

Former New Zealand captain has reserved praise for his experienced group likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Shane Watson, and Dwayne Bravo, who have been fantastic in the IPL 2018.

As per reports in Press Trust of India, Fleming told reporters at the post-match conference, “It was difficult two years for the franchise. The desire to get back to the competition was high. It was sustainable to keep winning throughout. The players were motivated (to win).”

The CSK coach further added, “I am proud of how different individuals stood up at key times. I am proud the way experienced players showed their way. We believe experience coming back into the competition was going to be a key component. There were lots of emotions in the franchise for what had happened; there was a lot of reasoning behind this team.”

Fleming further noted that that way Dhoni and Raina brought consistency was fantastic and it played a key role in CSK’ IPL 2018 campaign. He added, “We value experience for consistency, guys who keep doing it and not one-offs. The Dhonis and Rainas take you deep into the tournament.”

Commenting on Watson, Fleming noted, “Fitness was an issue as it is a long tournament but he (Watson) is more professional than I thought. We did not have to use much in bowling but he has got through one of his greatest performances. He is a bit broken now. With RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Watson batted at four. I also watched him closely at the Big Bash (T20 league in Australia) and there were signs that he was in good form. I had no doubt he was going to make an impact.”

He also credited communication and defining roles for their successful IPL 2018 campaign. Fleming signed off by saying, “Communication and defining roles is crucial. We needed to look at characters, (Ambati) Rayudu was a character who I valued. MS (Dhoni) was open about batting him top of the order. Kedar Jadhav is another good character who we lost (due to injury). It is not rocket science, but looking after little things.”